There are certain things which people should do when buying a classic car. All the magazines agree that you should research the car you want; choose the exact spec you want; and above all look at as many cars as you can and not just buy the first one you see. You know the rest - you've read enough magazine buyers' guides!

However, of course, no-one actually does this.

I'd always had a bit of a thing for Rover P6s. Liked them since I was a kid. Got to the age of 20 and could just about to afford to run a car - but only a classic because of the cheaper insurance. A mate of mine was selling possibly the roughest P6 in the world, in patchy Mexico Brown and undesirable SC Automatic spec. Not really what I wanted - I'd have preferred a TC manual in better condition and a better colour (although I've come to like Mexico now). So what did I do - did I walk away? No. I decided I couldn't bear anyone else to have it and bought the thing.

I did a little better with the GS. I researched them, read as much as I could find about them on the Internet, talked to members of the Club... and bought the first one I saw, sans V5, in a field outside Henley-on-Thames. Still, she was cheap. And she was cute, had a name, and looked really lonely in that field.

Magazines should continue their good work in giving good advice to classic car buyers. We should all follow their advice. But it's not going to happen - I'm still going to carry on buying strange cars for dumb reasons.